Retro for Instagram on iPad

It is pretty shocking that there’s still no Instagram app for iPad. Not only do iPads have decent cameras on them now, but they are also great to edit photos with, and view media in general. Sure, you can use the iPhone app in 2x mode, but that really isn’t a good experience. I’ve been using Retro for Instagram on iPad for a long time now and it just hit 2.0, which is a great update.

The app has a very flat look with shades of blue used throughout. While I’m not a huge fan of the light theme, the night theme is pretty awesome and I use the app exclusively in the night theme. There’s an option to switch themes automatically based on sunset and sunrise as well. Navigation is mostly gesture based and the app has a wealth of options for viewing photos in your timeline or a profile. Tapping on a thumbnail here brings up a larger view of the photo with comments and a swipe down dismisses the photo. Swiping from left to right takes you to the next or previous photo in the timeline. There are smooth animations (even on older devices like the iPad 3) throughout the app.

The sidebar has the home, profile, favourites, search and discover tabs. Switching tabs is accompanied by a slight bounce animation as well. I love the photo download animation in particular. The profile view has more blues used throughout and you can access your notifications here. Retro supports multiple Instagram accounts and you can add more accounts by tapping the account picture on the top left. The settings screen that has options like theme switching and swipe gestures for the sidebar is accessible from the accounts popover. The app is full of popovers for viewing information like photo likes or even comment management.

Overall, Retro 2.0 for Instagram on iPad is a great update to an already nice app. It even has background updates for photos and notifications. Retro for Instagram is available for free on the App Store for iPad and there’s an in app purchase for a Premium Unlock that lets you add multiple accounts and download photos directly, for $2.99.